Time to Relax.

I've been to Ithaca twice in the past month... both times to see good friends tie the knot.

Local brews. Do it.

M+B

I've known Mary for a really long time (we've been friends since the first day of kindergarten!) so it was especially awesome to celebrate this day with her and her new husband.  She's wanted this for a very long time, and they're a beautiful couple.  Cheers!

Her wedding also marked the end of the my extensive summer travels, and I was really excited this week to.... do nothing. Rest and detox, and spend QT with the kitties. 

Taking in the view from her new favorite window.

I finished Catching Fire in 3 days.  I tried several new recipes that came out really good.  And I still can barely lift my legs after taking the longest yoga class of my life last night.  All of my favorite ways to relax.

The next phase of August is getting ready for school, but I don't want to talk about it yet.

In the meantime, I'll keep pretending that summer lasts forever.  

And I'll leave with you some of my new favorite recipes to try this week:

Fresh corn salad. LOVED this one. Follow this recipe, but I substituted the wheat berries for Israeli cous cous because it's what we had in the cupboard, which made an even lighter summer salad.

Tomatilla-Avocado Salsa (over chicken tacos).  Tomatillas are weird. But this salsa was easy and really delicious.  I'm sad that we already ate it all, and I'm crossing my fingers for more tomatillos to show up in our CSA.  I mean, let's face it, it's mostly an excuse for a taco night.  Taco night is always my favorite night.

Ratatouille. Not the Disney movie, although that's really good, too.  This was an easy and delicious way to use up a ton of summer vegetables all at once.  The eggplant came out especially buttery and delicious sauteed in the olive oil.  All the work is in the chopping, which isn't so bad.  Emeril knows what he's doing.

I hope you're enjoying this last stretch of summer.  Have fun, and keep cool. 

-- D